It was the sort of night that batsmen dream of. The drop-in pitch at Eden Park was hard and true, the straight boundaries were of dimensions more normally associated with the village green, and there was havoc to wreak. England did just that, registering their highest Twenty20 total as one batsman after another played with total freedom.

A target of 215 was all too much for New Zealand, even on a warm and bountiful night when batsmen could have hit straight sixes with a stick of rhubarb, if it was stringy enough. They fell 40 runs short to go one down in a three-match series which now moves on to Hamilton on Tuesday.

Stuart Broad, England's captain, looked fit and happy again in his first international outing for two-and-a-half months and, if his best T20 figures of 4 for 24 and the fact that he is now England's leading T20 wicket-taker will gain most attention, his renewed ability to clock more than 140kph will have brought him equal satisfaction.

England's total not only surpassed their 202 for 6 against South Africa in Johannesburg three years ago, it also equalled the highest score at Eden Park.

Australia made 214 for 5 here in the first T20 international in 2005, a rum affair complete with retro clothing and false moustaches and proud, insecure players insisting that they were not taking it very seriously. It is all very different now, the revelry in the crowd combined with a determination by the players to succeed in cricket's most chaotic, unmanageable format.

New Zealand, normally so reliable in the field, handicapped themselves by dropping five catches. The fifth of them, in the penultimate over, would have required a neat lay-off by James Franklin at long-on to a fielding colleague as he ran tight to the boundary - for New Zealand, it was not a night for such achievements.

"You can't afford to drop five catches, especially with the power England have got," said Brendon McCullum, New Zealand's captain. "We were badly exposed, we let England hit to the short boundaries a lot and we have to work out some better strategies."

Two catches were spurned by Ross Taylor, of all people, who was acclaimed by a crowd of 24,000 on his return from his self-imposed international exile, but who had a nightmarish return, as if the Gods were inclined to poke more fun at him than an overwhelmingly supportive New Zealand public.

He dropped two within four balls and, if the first was difficult as Luke Wright drove Nathan McCullum to cover, his failure to cling onto Michael Lumb's skier was suitably embarrassing. In the interests of reintegration, Taylor grinned in a who-would-have-believed-it sort of way and received pointed expressions of sympathy from nearby team-mates.

It's was good to get back out there. The reception I got when I came out to bat was very humbling. Thanks to the fans for all your support.

England struck 15 sixes in all, only two below the record of 17 sixes conceded by England against South Africa at Centurion three years ago, nine of them hit by Loots Bosman on a night which saw Sajid Mahmood's T20 international career come to a sticky end. New Zealand managed only seven in reply as England increased the short stuff to force them to hit to the longer, squarer boundaries.

Their calculating, aggressive mindset was ingrained from the start. The left-arm spin of Ronnie Hira, introduced for the fourth over, had Alex Hales stumped by Brendon McCullum, but his second over had less to commend it. It disappeared for 21, with Wright and Michael Lumb sharing two sixes and two fours. England completed the six-over Powerplay healthily placed at 62 for 1; the mood was set.

The introduction of Andrew Ellis' medium pace brought even more havoc - 18 runs, sixes for Lumb and Wright, Taylor's drop at deep midwicket and the dismissal of Wright who planted a length ball straight to deep midwicket. Lumb, starved of the strike, eventually gloved a pull to short fine leg.

A stand of 81 in 43 balls between Eoin Morgan (46 off 26) and Jonny Bairstow (38 off 22) was the center-piece of England's innings. England's fourth-wicket pair needed a restorative evening like this. Morgan was intent on righting his reputation after a disappointing one-day tour of India and Bairstow was back in the side after compassionate leave because of a family illness. Morgan said he had never batted on a better surface.

The worst of New Zealand's four drops was down to Mitchell McClenaghan - Morgan, on 33, offered a simple opportunity to McClenaghan at backward point, but he never laid a hand of it, blinking as if he had been affected by the reflection of the sun on the stands.

England achieved higher standards in the field. New Zealand sensed it would not be their night when Morgan took a brilliant catch, running back from point, to dismiss Brendon McCullum, the batsman most likely to summon a response.

That cleared the way for Taylor. He took guard with New Zealand's task ever more daunting - 161 from 91 balls - and departed to an ugly leg-side smear at Steven Finn.

Wright's 42 from 20 balls had been as destructive as anything England produced with the bat, but for him to return 2 for 29 in four overs as England's sixth bowler would have given his captain, Broad even more cause for gratitude.

Wright had quite a night as England's sixth bowler, as full of activity as a wound-up clockwork toy. He wound up the crowd when he claimed a return catch off Colin Munro's boot - a close call worthy of a check with the third umpire - had Martin Guptill, whose 44 from 32 balls represented New Zealand's best response, caught at mid-off and added Nathan McCullum with his penultimate ball. At one point, he even bowled four successive dot balls to Munro. Now that took some doing.

Saw the game on the idiot box. England played well - NZs fielding was surprisingly terrible - I think they ultimately gifted England about 30 to 40 runs (chances not taken). England in the field was where they won the match. On that small field - you need to take wickets & support your bowlers, England did, NZ didn't.
== == ==
Couldn't hear what was going on verbally between Dernbach & the #11 Kiwi, but seriously, I think Dernbach better keep his head down & toy with actual batsmen rather than puffing his chest against a tailender who didn't have a clue. Could be wrong, but I felt he was gloating. Takes away from a fairly good overall performance by him.

redneck
on February 11, 2013, 2:57 GMT

guys knocking eden park, considering nz are co hosting the world cup and this being the biggest ground in nz in terms of capacity. what are the chances of one of the semi finals being played on this postage stamp??? adds another dimension to pitch and conditions if you ask me. no different to dust bowls in mumbai or a headingly green top. just a different set of conditions.

jb633
on February 10, 2013, 23:43 GMT

@Harmony 111- no I am not offended by anything you say merley bored. I can remember when most English fans loved Indian cricket as they were the great rival to Oz in the 2000 decade. However after I joined this website and see 100's of comments time and again slating anything that is English, I fell out of love with Indian cricket. I must confess seeing your team in tatters is very satisfying and I really hope Australia destroy you as well.

jb633
on February 10, 2013, 23:39 GMT

@Harmony111- anyone who bats in the top 5 of a major nation, playing in a test match at Lords, in a series played between numbers 1 and 2 and backs away from bouncers, is an embarassment. That much I know.

Lmaotsetung
on February 10, 2013, 22:51 GMT

England's 50 over squad is pretty much set in stone barring injuries and dramatic loss of form...Bell, Cook, KP, Trott, Morgan are the top 5 plus wk then you go into the bowlers/bowling all-rounders. Wright can only make the team as a bowling all-round and at this junction of his career it'd be hard to see him do that. Keep in mind you need 5 bowlers in ODIs or 4 bowlers + at the very least 2 part-timers.

JG2704
on February 10, 2013, 20:46 GMT

@CricketingStargazer on (February 10, 2013, 11:58 GMT) Don't think Wright should be thought of as an all rounder. More a batsman than can bowl a few overs. I'd say over the last 12 months he's been one of our best performers with the bat and to be fair to the guy , towards the end of his 1st stint he was batting at 7 and not bowling. I'd like to see him and Hales given a go in the OD side and if they are not up to standard then at least we know. If they are and surpass expectation and do better that established players then keep them in. I find sometimes our established players are established because our selectors won't drop them when they are out of form.

@Harmony111 on (February 9, 2013, 22:47 GMT) Wow - you really seem het up there. One person refers to the "Ghastlies" and what is all this aimed at me for?
When he says the Ghastlies , he doesn't refer to any individuals - he is just saying it's nice (not that it lasted long) for a thread to be free of rubbish.
BTW - I do think you're very harsh on Luke today. Not sure if you saw the game but Luke played an inns full of well executed cricket strokes which would be purred about had it been a batsman with a worldwide reputation. Also 214 has not been bettered on this ground by an international team. I'm not saying this means we're suddenly a force , but it's still not a just a par score

Please publish this time - nothing of offence

on February 10, 2013, 13:07 GMT

New Zealand is a pathetic team its boring for us fans when the results are clearly on England's side no fun similar like when you play minnows.

CricketingStargazer
on February 10, 2013, 11:58 GMT

@JG He did have a number of opportunities in the 50 over side without convincing, initially opening or batting at 3. He does look to have matured as a player in the last 2 years so he may be worth a last go. Certainly, he has a lot of power and is capable of a devastating cameo at 6 or 7 and, if he can be relied upon to bowl 6 or 7 overs cheaply in mid-innings, he would add extra options and be a very valuable addition to the side. To me the bowling is the major problem: it has advanced, but not enough to be a front-line bowler at this level, so his 10 overs have to be shared with someone else. If he can improvea little more in that department a little more, I'd pick him every time. As it is, he is a useful county all-rounder, but not quite good enough in either department to be an international except in T20.

jmcilhinney
on February 10, 2013, 10:22 GMT

To Harmony111 and anyone else interested, I'm not going to indulge in any more dialogue because it is a pointless exercise. Noone is changing their mind about anything so it's a waste of time.

With regards to the game, yes it was a small ground and that was certainly a big factor in England making a big score but they still batted well. Hales probably needs to take a deep breath and calm down a bit and he should be OK. If and when KP comes back into the T20 squad, you'd think that Lumb would be the one to miss out at the moment but that may change is Hales is not careful. The rest of the top six looked very good in this game so I don't see that there's anything specific to worry about there from this particular game. They were all hitting the ball well and I agree with JG that Wright looked as good or better than any of them. As for the bowling, the circumstances suited the England bowlers so I'm not 100% convinced going forward but, above all, it's good to see Broad bowling well.

Meety
on February 11, 2013, 23:49 GMT

Saw the game on the idiot box. England played well - NZs fielding was surprisingly terrible - I think they ultimately gifted England about 30 to 40 runs (chances not taken). England in the field was where they won the match. On that small field - you need to take wickets & support your bowlers, England did, NZ didn't.
== == ==
Couldn't hear what was going on verbally between Dernbach & the #11 Kiwi, but seriously, I think Dernbach better keep his head down & toy with actual batsmen rather than puffing his chest against a tailender who didn't have a clue. Could be wrong, but I felt he was gloating. Takes away from a fairly good overall performance by him.

redneck
on February 11, 2013, 2:57 GMT

guys knocking eden park, considering nz are co hosting the world cup and this being the biggest ground in nz in terms of capacity. what are the chances of one of the semi finals being played on this postage stamp??? adds another dimension to pitch and conditions if you ask me. no different to dust bowls in mumbai or a headingly green top. just a different set of conditions.

jb633
on February 10, 2013, 23:43 GMT

@Harmony 111- no I am not offended by anything you say merley bored. I can remember when most English fans loved Indian cricket as they were the great rival to Oz in the 2000 decade. However after I joined this website and see 100's of comments time and again slating anything that is English, I fell out of love with Indian cricket. I must confess seeing your team in tatters is very satisfying and I really hope Australia destroy you as well.

jb633
on February 10, 2013, 23:39 GMT

@Harmony111- anyone who bats in the top 5 of a major nation, playing in a test match at Lords, in a series played between numbers 1 and 2 and backs away from bouncers, is an embarassment. That much I know.

Lmaotsetung
on February 10, 2013, 22:51 GMT

England's 50 over squad is pretty much set in stone barring injuries and dramatic loss of form...Bell, Cook, KP, Trott, Morgan are the top 5 plus wk then you go into the bowlers/bowling all-rounders. Wright can only make the team as a bowling all-round and at this junction of his career it'd be hard to see him do that. Keep in mind you need 5 bowlers in ODIs or 4 bowlers + at the very least 2 part-timers.

JG2704
on February 10, 2013, 20:46 GMT

@CricketingStargazer on (February 10, 2013, 11:58 GMT) Don't think Wright should be thought of as an all rounder. More a batsman than can bowl a few overs. I'd say over the last 12 months he's been one of our best performers with the bat and to be fair to the guy , towards the end of his 1st stint he was batting at 7 and not bowling. I'd like to see him and Hales given a go in the OD side and if they are not up to standard then at least we know. If they are and surpass expectation and do better that established players then keep them in. I find sometimes our established players are established because our selectors won't drop them when they are out of form.

@Harmony111 on (February 9, 2013, 22:47 GMT) Wow - you really seem het up there. One person refers to the "Ghastlies" and what is all this aimed at me for?
When he says the Ghastlies , he doesn't refer to any individuals - he is just saying it's nice (not that it lasted long) for a thread to be free of rubbish.
BTW - I do think you're very harsh on Luke today. Not sure if you saw the game but Luke played an inns full of well executed cricket strokes which would be purred about had it been a batsman with a worldwide reputation. Also 214 has not been bettered on this ground by an international team. I'm not saying this means we're suddenly a force , but it's still not a just a par score

Please publish this time - nothing of offence

on February 10, 2013, 13:07 GMT

New Zealand is a pathetic team its boring for us fans when the results are clearly on England's side no fun similar like when you play minnows.

CricketingStargazer
on February 10, 2013, 11:58 GMT

@JG He did have a number of opportunities in the 50 over side without convincing, initially opening or batting at 3. He does look to have matured as a player in the last 2 years so he may be worth a last go. Certainly, he has a lot of power and is capable of a devastating cameo at 6 or 7 and, if he can be relied upon to bowl 6 or 7 overs cheaply in mid-innings, he would add extra options and be a very valuable addition to the side. To me the bowling is the major problem: it has advanced, but not enough to be a front-line bowler at this level, so his 10 overs have to be shared with someone else. If he can improvea little more in that department a little more, I'd pick him every time. As it is, he is a useful county all-rounder, but not quite good enough in either department to be an international except in T20.

jmcilhinney
on February 10, 2013, 10:22 GMT

To Harmony111 and anyone else interested, I'm not going to indulge in any more dialogue because it is a pointless exercise. Noone is changing their mind about anything so it's a waste of time.

With regards to the game, yes it was a small ground and that was certainly a big factor in England making a big score but they still batted well. Hales probably needs to take a deep breath and calm down a bit and he should be OK. If and when KP comes back into the T20 squad, you'd think that Lumb would be the one to miss out at the moment but that may change is Hales is not careful. The rest of the top six looked very good in this game so I don't see that there's anything specific to worry about there from this particular game. They were all hitting the ball well and I agree with JG that Wright looked as good or better than any of them. As for the bowling, the circumstances suited the England bowlers so I'm not 100% convinced going forward but, above all, it's good to see Broad bowling well.

JG2704
on February 10, 2013, 10:19 GMT

@CricketingStargazer on (February 10, 2013, 8:50 GMT) I'd give Wright a shot in the 50 over squad too. I'd only really think of him as a batsman but maybe get some overs out of him if our bowlers are struggling and/or conditions are suitable. For me he has been one of our best T20 batsmen since his recall. He started looking a bit frenetic again recently but if he bats like he did yesterday he is a huge asset. As for the other , I'm agreed but I can't be bothered to engage in all that now

on February 10, 2013, 10:11 GMT

Brilliant batting from the irishman

jmcilhinney
on February 10, 2013, 10:01 GMT

@Harmony111 on (February 10, 2013, 9:35 GMT), the provocation can be found on just about every story about England for the last year and a half, starting before India's tour of England. gsigh7 is a perfect example. Don't tell me that its comment was in response to anything anyone else posted. It came in just to criticise England for the sake of criticising. There has been a large number of ghastly from Indian fans on England stories for some time. There have been ghastly comments from fans of other teams too but, maybe just because there are so many Indian fans, the volume is larger from that direction. Your incessant whining does nothing to improve the image of Indian fans either and gsingh7 has yet to make a reasonable comment about actual cricket and simply quotes results, often imagined, as a way to insult opposition.

JG2704
on February 10, 2013, 9:55 GMT

@Apocalypse_EX (15:20) It's true , but then again I think it is the joint highest score on the ground

@Harmony111 (, 17:11) You're right in that we only managed 214 but did you actually see the game? Wright batted really well and despite having a similar score to other batsmen , he was hitting the ball beautifully.

@Barry Glynn (, 15:07 Sorry bud , but I thought the bowlers jobs were to take wickets and keep the runrate in check in these shorter formats. Didn't realise it was a bowling speed competition

@SamuelH (, 18:31) re "People are talking as if England only beat NZ because it was a tiny ground" - yeah and the ground increased in size after the Eng inns

@Munkeymomo (, 8:44) Personally I like Root for Bairstow despite his knock today but I wouldn't argue too strongly. When you bowl ok it always looks like you have enough options.

pleasepublish this time. Nothing untrue or of offence to anyone

jmcilhinney
on February 10, 2013, 9:32 GMT

@Harmony111 on (February 10, 2013, 9:03 GMT), Front-Foot-Lobotomy is one of The Ghastlies, I'll grant you, but if you can't work out that the series win it was talking about was the Test series then you're not very sharp. As for England's ODI success, most England fans would consider the 2-3 loss to India as a success of sorts. Given their results on previous tours, that is an improvement. You can't always go straight from 0 to 100. Sometimes you have to take steps in between. If you can continue to improve then you'll be at the top at some point. Many of your fellow India fans told us it was going to be 5-0 again so surely they'd have to be somewhat disappointed with 3-2. It marks a step backwards for India in home ODIs against England and the balance wouldn't have to shift too much further for the result to be reversed.

CricketingStargazer
on February 10, 2013, 8:50 GMT

@JG I sometimes wonder what fans from other countries do with their lives; their only pleasure in life seems to be to mock other teams... If England win, it's ridiculous celebration of a meaningless victory (which has mostly been hyped by the trolls themselves anyway); if it's defeat, it just goes to show how pathetic everyone is, especially the team hat they support! What most of them seem uniterested in is he game of cricket itself! Anyway... back to the matter in hand... Luke Wright. Interesting case. He has been around for a long time. It one point I think that people hoped that he might one day fill Andrew Flintoff's shoes. Despite some occasional big performances in ODIs he's drifted in and out of the side, never really looked completely at home and never lived up to his potential. A couple of years ago he was very close to a Test debut, but is now nowhere near even the 2nd XI. He isn't reliable enough with the bat and his bowling isn't quite good enough at this level. A pity...

andrew27994
on February 10, 2013, 8:46 GMT

I'm an Indian but I rate England as the best T20I team at the moment (though many would disagree). Also I was very surprised at their dismal performance in the ICC T20 WC 2012. But this series is exactly what England would want to extend their T20 success. But its disgusting to see such short boundary dimension in a cricket match. I don't mind seeing flat wickets for T20s but at least the boundaries distance should be increased. In fact I say the boundaries should be extended further in a T20 match to challenge the batsmen and fielders too. It will increase the chances of scoring the 2s and 3s well. I feel that in a T20 match the batsmen should be made to work for their runs due to the short format

Min2000
on February 10, 2013, 6:56 GMT

The game last night was a spectacle as much as it was a cricket match. Eden Park probably shouldn't be used as a cricket ground anymore. Auckland needs a dedicated Cricket ground.

Lmaotsetung
on February 10, 2013, 6:50 GMT

Give it a rest Indian fans. You'll get another shot at us in 2014. Until then it's the Aussies turn now...you've had your chances the last 1 1/2 years and blew...go back to your IPL and just enjoy the fact that you have the richest cricketing board in the world...like you guys said many times when Eng were #1...what goes up must eventually fall down...waiting impatiently for the day the BCCI falls down....

jmcilhinney
on February 10, 2013, 6:02 GMT

@Mitcher on (February 10, 2013, 1:02 GMT), England fans like to see their team win in any format. Those who keep saying that they don't care about T20 wouldn't even be reading the stories they comment on, never mind commenting on them, if they really didn't care. That said, Test cricket is light years ahead as a priority for most, so to say that they don't care about T20 nearly as much as Test cricket would be accurate. Besides that, who of those commenting here besides Front-Foot-Lobotomy have you seen comments from claiming not to care in the past?

jmcilhinney
on February 10, 2013, 5:49 GMT

@gsingh7 on (February 10, 2013, 4:34 GMT), as I've said many times, those who really don't care don't comment. As I've also said many times, I for one am keen to see England win as many games as possible in all formats but I'd happily see them lose 10 T20's if it meant one Test win. If gloating from England fans after a T20 win against a lowly ranked team shows a lack of class, which it does, how should we judge gloating from a fan whose team wasn't even playing in this game about a result in a series finished weeks ago where his team scraped through at home against a team supposedly poor in the format and the conditions after having drawn the preceding T20 series and lost the Test series? I guess when there is so little to get excited over you have to make the most of every little scrap. Do you actually have anything to say about the cricket itself? I doubt it because you seem to have very little knowledge on the subject, thus your comments hold no weight whatsoever.

gsingh7
on February 10, 2013, 4:34 GMT

t20 seems quite popular in english fans seeing their jubilation of this meaningless win, i wonder why they always tell others they dont watch t20 sub -cricket matches, maybe they change their priorities acc. to opposition sinse they lost 4 straight series in sc against india now everything seems fine again against minnows nz.

whofriggincares
on February 10, 2013, 2:46 GMT

@FFL getting a bit over excited about a T/20 win on a postage stamp sized ground against a long standing minnow I would say. You are quick to discredit any other sides victorys but make an embarrassing song and dance when the poms beat a struggling outfit. Do you realise how pathetic you look to everyone on here?

I-Like-Cricket
on February 10, 2013, 1:40 GMT

Full congratulations to England, they managed to beat probably the worlds worst T20 team on a poor drop-in pitch on a small ground. Now let's listen to all their supporters tell us just how great they are. Hooray for England! .... Oh wait they haven't really achieved anything. My bad.

Mitcher
on February 10, 2013, 1:02 GMT

So do England fans support the short forms now? The wind must have changed.

Lmaotsetung
on February 9, 2013, 23:58 GMT

Don't you Indian fans have the Irani Cup to follow or something. Or trying to come up with new excuses when Aus trash your team later this month?

jmcilhinney
on February 9, 2013, 23:56 GMT

@gsingh7 on (February 9, 2013, 11:50 GMT), good to see you here to congratulate England fans on their team moving above India in the T20 rankings. You'd think that India would be better at T20 with the IPL being so wonderful and all but I guess it's only a good competition because of all the foreign players rather than the Indian players. Imagine what it would be like if teams were limited to two foreign players like most other domestic competitions rather than four.

jb633
on February 9, 2013, 23:13 GMT

@Harmony111- Look, would you please give the England bashing a rest it is getting tiresome. We as English fans are happy to acknowledge that India has produced some mighty fine cricketers. The side of 2000-2010 had some greats in it, Dravid, Sachin, Kumbe etc and we are happy to admire the class and determination of these players. There is no doubt that India were a far better side than England in that period and they deserved the series wins both home and away.
However in recent times the Indian side is an embarssment. England only really care about test cricket and to gloat over an ODI series win is not going to cut too deep. I am happy to acknowledge that SA are the best cricketing side in the world at present but England are a damn sight better than the rich and lazy Indian team. The players you glorify eg, Raina and Yuvraj are an embarassment to the country of India. It shows how far the cricket has fallen that your are willing to boast about #scaredofbouncersRaina.

TakingouttheEmotion
on February 9, 2013, 23:02 GMT

For me, living in Australia and madly supporting England is tough, but reading some of these posts supporting NZ in NZ appears tougher. I listened to the game last night and yes, whilst England did make good use of batting first, NZ did well to keep them in check in the last 5 overs - score could of been well over 215. YES, England fielded ok (this game) and NZ dropped catches - but we all know this happens to all sides on any given day - great, average and poor teams alike. Did NZ make the wrong call to put England in? Yes, probably, but hindsight is a wonderful thing and IF some of those catches had of stuck - could well of been different. 17 sixes vs 7? - ground size is irrelevant, that was pure scoreboard pressure. Given that pressure I thought NZ did OK and in T20, 40 runs short is only 10 less lusty blows during the innings than the opponent - again, scoreboard pressure. England played well and had some luck, NZ played OK and didn't have any. Looking forward to next game.

Glenn10
on February 9, 2013, 22:34 GMT

I think we (NZ) were just totally out thought. The english batsmen hit straighter than ours and with the exception of McClenaghan, their bowlers hit better lengths and wider lines. On this joke ground, we needed to force the English to hit square. Obviously that didn't happen, they just dined out on straight hit six's.
Two spinners were a gamble on this ground, but with better execution it might have paid off.
I can't believe you can even consider, playing cricket at Eden Park. Doesn't the ICC have minimum boundary distance standards? Even worse, I can't believe we are playing a test here, it's embarrassing really. Its time for NZcricket to build a purpose built ground in Auckland to the standards of Newlands or The Oval, that can hold 20,000. I guess they have no money right?
Yet again bad tactics from the Coach. Another Hessen slip up. ... gee he's had a few now! Well done England, a well thought out and executed victory.

richardror
on February 9, 2013, 20:19 GMT

Don't worry New Zealand. You may not have beaten England but your performance would still have smashed India.

JG2704
on February 9, 2013, 20:04 GMT

Basically it was England's day and for once it was a joy watching us bat.

Luke Wright , for me was head and shoulders above all our batsmen despite everyone making similar sort of contributions. He looked less frenetic than of late and was timing everything sweetly inc the misdirected shot he got out to.
Thought our other main contributors had a fair amount of luck. Jos ended up scoring at a SR of 200 but I felt he was playing nowhere near as good as he did in the warm up games - esp in the last few overs. It was kind of disappointing that we scored 214 from where we were at with about 5 overs to go.
Also - despite not wanting him out there - good to see Broad back and bowling pretty well , although we'll see what he really has in the test series.
Finally - this will cause controversy - but should KP walk straight back into the side? Not sure he's done AS AMAZINGLY - as many had hoped on his return.

kiwicricketnut
on February 9, 2013, 19:51 GMT

Bad team selection had alot to do with us getting pumped by the english. Two spinners was a big no-no they have to bowl full so hitting them to the short straight boundries was all too easy, we also have too many slow medium bowlers when they get their length wrong are just connon fodder, im looking at ellis and franklin they're just too gentle and elliot comes back soon offering the same stuff. We need to find five proper bowling options in this form and move away from part timers or scores like 214 will be common place against us. Well done poms faultless perfomance.

SDHM
on February 9, 2013, 18:31 GMT

People are talking as if England only beat NZ because it was a tiny ground. England have played NZ 7 times and won 6 of them, and not all of them have been at Eden Park! Hales has looked a bit scratchy since arriving - for some reason I think he feels he's the one for the chop when KP comes back into the side, but I don't think that's the case. Looked a bit more fluent today than he did in the warm ups with a couple of crisp shots, but he's just looking a bit frenetic. Great to see Buttler finally beginning to shine in an England shirt too - kept well today as well as bat well, which was good to see.

on February 9, 2013, 17:59 GMT

Richard Levy got a century in Hamilton, not Auckland.

on February 9, 2013, 17:47 GMT

What a fine T20 match this has been between two cricketing nations.

Optic
on February 9, 2013, 17:41 GMT

@Harmony111 No it means he's a better player in the one day format, you know like Kholi, Dhoni, Yuvraj & Raina those sorts of players.

Yes England could only manage the highest international score at the ground, poor them, they should learn to play more like India do abroad, oh no that's right they're an absolute embarrassment.

Trickstar
on February 9, 2013, 17:21 GMT

@Barry Glynn Don't understand posts like this but you're an Aussie, so it's about right for you lot. Firstly no you're wrong, his stock delivery was around 138kph and got as high as 142kph, his variations were around 126 to 130 and his slower ball was around 118ph and secondly for a T20 game on that size ground he bowled very well, as he did last game, so frankly you're talking garbage.
Also what's the thing about wanting to bowl quick, you're obsession with pace is a little immature. He's never been and out and out fast bowler and on pitches like that the faster you bowl the further it goes into the stand, seeing this Broad used his brains and used lots of variations. When he was at his very best against the Indians and in the UAE last year he bowls around 85mph, like most of the good fast bowler do like Steyn & Anderson. He's even talked about that he decided to become more accurate and use line and length instead of pace like he use to.

Harmony111
on February 9, 2013, 17:11 GMT

@Front-Foot-Lunge: In other words Luke Wright is a player of limited skills & even in T20 he can score runs only against Afghanistan on flat wickets or against NZ on these tiny grounds. Beyond that not much --- not just limited but exceedingly so.
Btw, even on this tiny ground and flat wicket, your BIG hitters could mange only 214.

sweet2hrme
on February 9, 2013, 17:03 GMT

Today New Zealand played very poorly. I think 215 runs was chaseable on this very small ground. Today New zealand batting n bowling was totally off color. Some poor team management thinking also. Playing with two spinners was totally wrong decision on this small ground. They conceeded too many runs. New zealand batsman need to think that how to compete in remaining two t20 matches! They are not playing agressive n positive cricket! See how eng all top batsman was playing. They hitting 1 boundary thn 2 thn 3 eventualy getting big score while if u compare with New Zealand batsman they are taking rest after hitting 1 boundary. Finally the sixes was the main difference. Eng smash 17 while New Zealand somehow manage only 7! Well now new zeland hv think how to proceed now! Othrwise Eng looks very strong in all three department!

BRUTALANALYST
on February 9, 2013, 16:18 GMT

Bairstow looked very shaky at the crease was dropped a couple of times got lucky, Butler only coming with 4 over left is a waste as he is clearly the best batsman in this 11

Front-Foot-Lunge
on February 9, 2013, 16:00 GMT

Luke Wright played the type of innings many of us have seen him play consistently for Sussex over the last few seasons. A powerful England Batsman, he's lethal in this kind of form and practically unbowlable to. He's struggled to adapt to the longer forms of the game, but when he plays like this there's little any bowler can do to stop him. Great Innings Luke.

TheCricketEmpireStrikesBack
on February 9, 2013, 15:42 GMT

Funny to see England supporters getting all excited about winning a meaningless T20 match against a country less than a tenth of its population. Wins against South Africa may justify boasting.

Apocalypse_EX
on February 9, 2013, 15:20 GMT

I'm not saying England dont deserve the victory but the dimensions of Eden park and most NZ stadiums are...ridiculously small. No wonder a one-dimensional player like Richard Levi got a century here. Even Chris Martin would fancy his chances of clearing the ropes over there.

AKS286
on February 9, 2013, 15:09 GMT

still denbach & patel is in the squad, good job. dernbach the most expensive bowler.

EnglishCricket
on February 9, 2013, 15:08 GMT

Instead of New Zealand playing teams like South Africa or England consecutively, play teams more of your calibre like Ireland, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka since you have no chance against us home or away.

on February 9, 2013, 15:07 GMT

Broad bowled ok but certainly not fast, most of his deliveries were around the 130 kph mark, pedestrian really, no faster than Luke Wright.
T20 is no guide for Test cricket, bowling four overs at around 130-135 average is goinng to scare no one. By his own admission he has a permanant heel problem wwhhcihh does not auger well for a five day Test match.

landl47
on February 9, 2013, 15:05 GMT

Good performance by England in the sub-cricket format. The good things were Bairstow's form on his return, Luke Wright's all-round excellence and most of all, Broad's improvement. His bowling was sharp, good pace and accuracy and a useful slower ball along the lines of the Fernando ball, released from the palm of his hand. His captaincy was spot-on, too; this ground, with its short straight boundaries, required shorter-pitched seam bowling. Anything pitched up went the distance, and the spinners were easy meat since there was no turn. Accordingly, Broad used all his seamers, squeezed a couple of overs each out of Tredwell and Patel, and built up a cushion large enough that even the customary Dernbach melt-down in the last over couldn't help NZ. Nice job, supported by some good fielding.

For NZ, they batted and bowled reasonably well, but the fielding wasn't good. That's very unusual for a side which normally does the little things well. No doubt they'll come back strongly next time.

Harmony111
on February 9, 2013, 14:35 GMT

If one has a casual look at the Eng batting scorecard you won't think they got 200+. No one got even a 50 and yet cos 5-6 guy got some runs it all adds up to 200+. If SB is bowling 140+ then perhaps he is back to his peak though it could be all due to ample rest and fresh muscles/ligaments but SB @140 is an imp bowler. This doesn't mean good for the Aussies in the Ashes.

jmcilhinney
on February 9, 2013, 14:16 GMT

@Sulaimaan91 on (February 9, 2013, 13:49 GMT), part of the problem is that T20 is cricket for people who aren't actually cricket fans. Even on some bigger brounds they intentionally bring the boundaries in to increase the number of boundaries hit. It's just one example of how T20 cheapens cricket, but if those boundaries excite the non-cricket-fans enough to part with enough money to keep Test cricket going then I guess it's an evil that we can live with.

jmcilhinney
on February 9, 2013, 13:58 GMT

@Humphrey Hollins on (February 9, 2013, 13:43 GMT), do you have any idea how funny it is hearing an Aussie call Luke Ronchi a "skilled Aussie slogger"? Ronchi was born in NZ and moved to Australia as a child with his family. How many Aussies have accused England of "poaching" and playing "imports" under the same circumstances?

Sulaimaan91
on February 9, 2013, 13:49 GMT

@FFL, lol big six hitters??????those boundaries can be cleared by school kids.
Its time the ICC started regulating the boundary distances, there should be a minimum of at least 70-75m.India and New Zealand are the two countries with the shortest boundaries.India have used that to their advantage and broken many batting records while New Zealand given their quality still have not.But its time the laws were changed to bring in a minimum distance.

on February 9, 2013, 13:43 GMT

I dont know why brendan mcallum still gets a game with skilled aussie sloggers like ronchi and brownlie on the sidelines.
As for australia fearing this england lineup, that short bowling is fruit for the sideboard for any aussie batsman.

CricketingStargazer
on February 9, 2013, 13:27 GMT

"It disappeared for 21, with Wright and Michael Lumb helping themselves to two sixes and two fours each." Ouch! that would have made it at least an 8-delivery over with a minimum of 42 runs off the over! :-)

CricketingStargazer
on February 9, 2013, 12:59 GMT

One win has not made England world-beaters, although a couple more wins will do no harm on the back of the shared series in India. What to me though is satisfying is that we can all identify a couple of places where we can make the side stronger for the second game. That's not a bad situation to be in. Disappointing turnout of trolls today.

So I guess the fact that England have won will justify the on going selection of Dernbach... I don't understand why they're doing this: if he's out of form, don't keep selecting him! Can it be good for his confidence apart from anything else. The craziest thing about this is that there are more than able replacements - where was Meaner in India, and what about Woakes, who surely deserves a chance in conditions that may suit him better than in India (and may just strengthen the batting too, not that it needed it today...).

@ Si Baker, totally agree, spot on T20 team!

Munkeymomo
on February 9, 2013, 11:53 GMT

@Si Baker: Good points, Root could be all in all as useful as Patel with the ball and better with the bat. To be honest I'd prefer Meaker to Woakes, the batting is strong enough wit Root at 7, back your bats and pick your best bowlers. Every time I watch Meaker for Surrey he looks deadly (Top notch in-swinging yorkers with a new ball is not to be sniffed at). Include KP and Swann and all of a sudden you're struggling to think of who to exclude. Nice position to be in.

R_U_4_REAL_NICK
on February 9, 2013, 11:50 GMT

Solid stuff from England. Short-pitched bowling worked here on this pitch against this NZ team... one wonders for how long this will be the case!

gsingh7
on February 9, 2013, 11:50 GMT

nz cracked again under pressure! no surprises . broad looks world beater after getting thrashed on low turners of india where he was sent back home mid series, and cud not come back in time for customary odi series loss. world seems all right again for shorter format team of england after getting beat 3-2 from india last month.

on February 9, 2013, 11:36 GMT

@Si Baker, I'd back that for a side. Not surprised by the england batting, sans KP this looks a reasonable bunch. Thpugh NZ gifted us a few in the field. The bowling is a worry. Dernbach's been a passenger too long, and it can't be doing his confidence any good at all. At the moment he's a liability, I'm afraid. Wasn't Tredwell's pitch, to be fair.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on February 9, 2013, 11:23 GMT

England: 11 men, 11 big six hitters. What an exciting young team this is, surely the biggest-hitting in the world game right now. You can hear tumbleweed blowing all over as the trolls have nothing to say again. There again, if I were an aussie fan, I'd be more worried about the thought of Australia making history by losing these back-to-back Ashes sereis, which looks very likely given the outstanding, long-established strength and depth of England, versus the club-standard players currently pretending to be Test Cricketers down-under. Golden days are these :)

shortsillypoint
on February 9, 2013, 11:18 GMT

NZ were only beaten by superior batting, bowling and fielding - otherwise fine! To be fair, NZ's awful, embarrassing fielding that led to a monster England score was aided by the period of half light in that rugby stadium. So with home knowledge, why field first?

Jordanious77
on February 9, 2013, 11:07 GMT

@nathan Ross Taylor is one of the best slip fielders in the world. He just had a really bad day of cricket.. It happens.

jmcilhinney
on February 9, 2013, 11:01 GMT

It was also very pleasing to see Broad performing well. It's still early days but he looks far closer to his best than he has for some time. Hopefully he's over his injury issues for now and his heel condition can be successfully managed for some time.

Finally, while it's no big deal in the end, could England maybe have sneaked a bye off their last ball? It was a free hit so, although Buttler was bowled, he was not out. I didn't see exactly where the ball went but, if they'd run, a direct hit at the striker's end would not have been enough to affect a run out because the stumps were already broken. I'm not sure exactly what the rule is there but, if runs taken when a player is caught on a free hit count, surely they could legitimately run a bye under those circumstances. In a closer game it could have been important but I don't think that it occurred to the batsmen to try.

jmcilhinney
on February 9, 2013, 10:55 GMT

Plenty of encouragement there for England. It could well have been closer if NZ had taken their catches but who knows what Buttler could have done had he come in earlier. Great to see him continue his recent good form. Also good to see Bairstow back in the runs after his hiatus. As good as his flat sixes look though, maybe he should work on some more elevation. Getting caught on the boundary when the ball would have cleared the ropes otherwise must be annoying. It's a little concerning to again see Tredwell and Finn, recently England's best limited-overs bowlers, being the most expensive, although Finn did take some important wickets. That didn't really look like a spinners' pitch though, and did suit England's preferred shorter length. Great to see Wright contributing well with the ball as well as the bat. England don't have as many bowling options as some other teams so he's very important. Not sure whether to be pleased with Dernbach or not. Would still prefer to see Woakes instead.

YorkerStump
on February 9, 2013, 10:44 GMT

@Si Baker - Spot on my friend, spot on! If England were to be ruthless, that's the squad to do it, and do it now I say...

Also, for the life of me, I don't know why the selectors still persist with Jade! He has got to go, end of! He is such a liability in any format and this recent showing just emphasizes the case even more! Yes it was a batsman's paradise but as an International player, you must bowl tight and pile on the pressure! I'm sure he's great with the banter and what not, but being a well liked guy can only go so far...Bring in Woakes cause he can do the job better!

Munkeymomo
on February 9, 2013, 10:44 GMT

@Si Baker: Good points, Root could be all in all as useful as Patel with the ball and better with the bat. To be honest I'd prefer Meaker to Woakes, the batting is strong enough wit Root at 7, back your bats and pick your best bowlers. Every time I watch Meaker for Surrey he looks deadly (Top notch in-swinging yorkers with a new ball is not to be sniffed at). Include KP and Swann and all of a sudden you're struggling to think of who to exclude. Nice position to be in.

hhillbumper
on February 9, 2013, 10:31 GMT

Good performance but why Dernbach again. Genuinely just drop him because he is not international standard

Nathan74
on February 9, 2013, 10:14 GMT

Is Ross Taylor a good slip fielder. Can someone please tell me about the crusial catches that he has dropped in the past. He stood in the slips in the past because he was a captain now he is not if he is not a a good slip fielder he should be put else where. May be he will want to take some more time out. He thinks that he is indispensable to the team. Cricket is a team game and he cannot demand anything unless he can prove himself in that position.

CricketingStargazer
on February 9, 2013, 10:10 GMT

@Si Baker Wise words. I'd back that.

on February 9, 2013, 10:05 GMT

@Munkeymomo: as a diehard Surrey supporter it pains me to say this, but Dernbach has to be by far the most ineffectual seamer England have selected across any format in living memory. Why the England management believe that a bowler not even considered an automatic choice by his county will magically morph into a world-beater once unleashed on the international stage remains the most enduring selection mystery of the age, but believe it they do, against overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

With KP, Swann & Root waiting in the wings, England now have the makings of a formidable T20 side. *If* selectorial sense were to prevail, Root - who proved in India that he's a far more dependable batsman & just as economical a bowler in the shorter formats as Patel - would displace him at Seven, with Woakes in for Dernbach at Eight & Broad & Swann at Nine & Ten respectively; &, of course, KP replacing either Lumb or Hales at the top of the order. Now, what a side *that* would be.

CricketingStargazer
on February 9, 2013, 9:57 GMT

A lot of people were flapping desperately after the loss in the second warm-up. As I said, the warm-ups allow you to fine-tune and get it right on the day. Broad, Finn and Wright seem to have got it spot on. We had two spinners who combined to be our most expensive bowler, summing 2 runs between them with the bat. Today it didn't matter, but I would rather have the extra seamer. Overall though, a decent performance, slightly spoilt by me by seeing a certain tatooed Surrey player going for the sort of runs of his last over that would have been a killer in a closer game.

SLAZV600
on February 9, 2013, 9:41 GMT

@Munkeymomo, i think the selectors have Buttler ahead of Bairstow and when Pieterson is available will slot in at 4/5 in place of Bairstow. Buttler is the gloveman in possesion at the moment.

RednWhiteArmy
on February 9, 2013, 9:33 GMT

Superb power hitting from all the lads really. Happy days.

bobbo2
on February 9, 2013, 9:26 GMT

England's strength is clearly their batting. On a road why did NZ not bat first? And where is Mills who is clearly NZ's best limited overs quick. Very annoyed with this performance. Catching was shocking and you always bat first on a road.

Munkeymomo
on February 9, 2013, 9:18 GMT

@Si Baker: Agreed, rather they'd drop him ASAP though, NZ would be a good place to blood youngsters (pacers). If Harris or Meaker came in they'd have the luxury of conditions similar to what they are used to and up against a strong but inexperienced side, so challenging, but with good opportunities to succeed.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on February 9, 2013, 8:49 GMT

What a powerful display of strong armed batting by England, every one of them is a big six hitter. Cricket lovers across the world looked on thrilled as six after six was powered out of the ground. What a performance.

Munkeymomo
on February 9, 2013, 8:44 GMT

@JG: Theres enough bowling options there, if Root came in I'd prefer it be for Patel (I rate the guy but the JBs and Root are better fielders and bats). Doesn't look like it'll matter thanks in part to some uncharacteristically poor NZ fielding. Interesting that Buttler is keeping ahead of Bairstow tho.

bluefunk
on February 9, 2013, 7:52 GMT

'as one batsman after another played with total inhibition.' lack of inhibition surely, David?

Prabhash1985
on February 9, 2013, 7:08 GMT

Great to see Ross Taylor back in the team... Really appreciate his come back... What to see him and his team perform well... Hoping a good game of Cricket from both team... very good teams indeed...

JG2704
on February 9, 2013, 6:41 GMT

Good start run rate wise for England but as the commentator says it could be a graveyard of a pitch for the bowlers. Could Jade be the 1st T20 bowler to go for 3 figures?
Hales is starting to look a bit frenetic. Wright looked superb and was timing the ball beautifully.
Thought Root should have played instead of Jonny (extra bowling option) and Jos should have played ahead of Jonny in the order but hopefully (for once) the selectors will disprove my doubts

cricketkumar
on February 9, 2013, 6:37 GMT

no indian tv channel is showing the series, I believe.

bumble23
on February 9, 2013, 6:20 GMT

which indian sports channel has bagged the telecast rights for this series?

No featured comments at the moment.

bumble23
on February 9, 2013, 6:20 GMT

which indian sports channel has bagged the telecast rights for this series?

cricketkumar
on February 9, 2013, 6:37 GMT

no indian tv channel is showing the series, I believe.

JG2704
on February 9, 2013, 6:41 GMT

Good start run rate wise for England but as the commentator says it could be a graveyard of a pitch for the bowlers. Could Jade be the 1st T20 bowler to go for 3 figures?
Hales is starting to look a bit frenetic. Wright looked superb and was timing the ball beautifully.
Thought Root should have played instead of Jonny (extra bowling option) and Jos should have played ahead of Jonny in the order but hopefully (for once) the selectors will disprove my doubts

Prabhash1985
on February 9, 2013, 7:08 GMT

Great to see Ross Taylor back in the team... Really appreciate his come back... What to see him and his team perform well... Hoping a good game of Cricket from both team... very good teams indeed...

bluefunk
on February 9, 2013, 7:52 GMT

'as one batsman after another played with total inhibition.' lack of inhibition surely, David?

Munkeymomo
on February 9, 2013, 8:44 GMT

@JG: Theres enough bowling options there, if Root came in I'd prefer it be for Patel (I rate the guy but the JBs and Root are better fielders and bats). Doesn't look like it'll matter thanks in part to some uncharacteristically poor NZ fielding. Interesting that Buttler is keeping ahead of Bairstow tho.

Front-Foot-Lunge
on February 9, 2013, 8:49 GMT

What a powerful display of strong armed batting by England, every one of them is a big six hitter. Cricket lovers across the world looked on thrilled as six after six was powered out of the ground. What a performance.

Munkeymomo
on February 9, 2013, 9:18 GMT

@Si Baker: Agreed, rather they'd drop him ASAP though, NZ would be a good place to blood youngsters (pacers). If Harris or Meaker came in they'd have the luxury of conditions similar to what they are used to and up against a strong but inexperienced side, so challenging, but with good opportunities to succeed.

bobbo2
on February 9, 2013, 9:26 GMT

England's strength is clearly their batting. On a road why did NZ not bat first? And where is Mills who is clearly NZ's best limited overs quick. Very annoyed with this performance. Catching was shocking and you always bat first on a road.